Chandrababu Naidu denounces YSRCP’s ‘fake campaign’ on fertilizer supply, warns of stern action

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday (September 3, 2025) dismissed allegations by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) that there was acute scarcity of urea as “mischievous that warrants stern action.”

Mr. Naidu said the State had 94,892 MT of urea available as on September 3 and that the Central government just allotted an additional 53,000 MT, which would reach in about 10 days. Besides, 9,38,000 MT of urea was allotted for the rabi season.

However, the YSRCP was making a vicious campaign that the farmers were in dire straits due to fertilizer scarcity, in order to derive political mileage.

The government would firmly deal with it, as the fake news being spread by the YSRCP through its social media and media outlets was creating panic among the farmers and distracting the government from its main task of meeting the fertilizer requirement.

Addressing the media , Mr. Naidu said, while the government took steps to make fertilizer available to all farmers, they should refrain from using excessive quantities of chemicals (including pesticides), as their heavy concentration in the crops would harm the consumers.

Also, he told the farmers to behave as farmers and not indulge in politics and observed that the cultivation of two crops in some districts like Nellore, Tirupati and Palnadu resulted in a spurt in demand for fertilizers. Diversion of urea was also noticed in some districts, and 1,284 MT was seized.

The Chief Minister said the government would streamline the supply of fertilizers by using data collected on a real-time basis from the e-Panta platform and bring in Aadhaar-based identification of farmers. The government intended to reduce the usage of fertilizers substantially and supply more micro-nutrients. Farmers should cooperate in achieving those objectives, he appealed.

Burley tobacco

The government was buying 20 million kg of burley tobacco and doing all it could to protect farmers cultivating a wide variety of other crops from the vagaries of the market, he asserted.

Further, Mr. Naidu took serious objection to “fake news” spread by the YSRCP that water flow in the Kuppam branch canal stopped a few hours after he performed a ritual there, and warned that he would no longer tolerate such misinformation campaign, saying there was an issue with a defective pump but it was replaced within no time.

VSP issue

Referring to the YSRCP leaders’ allegation that attempts were being made to privatise the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), Mr. Naidu said the Central government had, in fact, given a ₹12,000 crore revival package having pondered over the consequences of privatising it and that it was the first time that the Centre had changed such a major decision.

Mr. Naidu observed that some services in the VSP could be outsourced for the sake of efficiency, but it did not mean that it was being handed over to private companies on the platter.

Reacting to some YSRCP leaders’ comments that they would attend the Assembly session only if Opposition status was given, Mr. Naidu said the party should have secured the people’s mandate.

He recalled that the Congress party had not been recognised as the Opposition in the Assembly in 1994 when it had a strength of 26 MLAs. The Congress leaders then had not created a fuss like the YSRCP was doing now, he observed.